Leaders Are Human Too

Like any good blogger, I always encourage comments to my posts.  After all, feedback is the Breakfast of Champions.  I regularly receive comments through this  site, via email and personally.   98% of the comments are positive.   I occasionally blog about examples of leaders who have achieved at a high level and explore their circumstances.  These have triggered comments from readers who have issues with my choice of examples.

Two Notable Examples:

Articles written about…

1. Nelson Mandela
2. Derrick Rose

In the first case, I was reminded/informed that Mandela was anti-Semitic and anti-Israel.  In the second case, I heard about Mr. Rose cheating on his college board exams.In both cases, I stand by my decision to use them as examples of humans who achieved at a high level.  Would they be more effective leaders if these circumstances were not true?  Yes. The bigger question is: Should I avoid using potentially controversial people as examples?

What about this Guy?

Another of my recently featured characters was Curly The Trail Boss from the film City Slickers.  Curly, while fictional, is flawed in many ways. He smoked, swore, failed in relationships, carried a gun and ate loads of bacon.  That doesn’t mean we can’t learn from him.

What’s a Blogger to Do?

If I would try to highlight only people with no blemishes, I fear I would need to become a fiction writer.  So I will continue to feature humans.  And I believe that most of us understand that to err (or have an opposing political agenda) is human.  When it comes to filtering, I ask that you don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.

Leaders are human, too!